The snow and ice melted.

The sun shines on the earth and on people's faces.

"Even if I were given a heavy box of gold coins now, I wouldn't trade this for it. The mercenaries, who regarded money as their life, said this, but closed their eyes, feeling the sunshine that had only been a few days but seemed to be a world away.

Not something special.

It's just that in the past, I saw the sunshine that I took for granted every day.

But it's precious.

The scenery around the town of Scotty is not stunning, especially when there are dead bodies everywhere and it looks very disgusting, but almost no one cares about it.

The officers, who kept discipline on their lips at every turn, also relaxed, but at this time, even the older generation of Padrosi soldiers who always called them the Beat Generation were mostly silent, at most saying something like this:

"It's human nature. ”

There are no fearless warriors in this world.

But all warriors become fearless warriors under the right circumstances.

The Lamangu saying that the clouds and the poor mountains and the bad water come out of the people, and this has not changed to this day. Weak countries and strong armies, both on the east and west coasts, have many brave warriors in the north, because of the vast land, sparse people, and lack of resources, as well as the ethnic minorities living in the Palohia plateau and many other treacherous regions, but their bravery is far from fearless.

At least not fearlessness as the general understanding is.

Historical historians have always exaggerated the facts, adding to the flore that when people think of certain daring warriors, they tend to think that they are not afraid of anything, they don't care about anything - that is, they don't have any fear.

But that's not the case.

People who really don't have any fear are crazy people who have lost their souls, and the fear of death and loss is the real reason why many people have survived the battlefield. And their courage actually comes from fear.

Yes, the things in front of you are terrible, but what is even more terrible is that if you don't muster up the courage to stop in front of them, all the good things you care about, your family, and the place where you live will be gone.

The fear of losing something they love prevails over the threat, and it is because of what they care about that they do not fall into the trap of being in the same league as the madmen who are immersed in the killing.

So this light is precious.

This long-lost sunlight symbolizes "normality", and after a terrible battle in the dark, it means that everything will return to normal and return to the hope of the past.

So no one would jump out at such a time to stir up trouble.

The choice of those who cleaned up the battlefield and guarded the war was voluntary, and the thousands of soldiers who survived the war experience were profoundly changed. The contempt of the older generation of Padrosi soldiers is unfounded, but at least it is untenable, and the immature teenagers, the Beat Generation, who have gone through the flames of war, will eventually become men who stand up to the sky.

One day, these soldiers will become legends that people sing about.

However, the crisis has not yet been completely resolved, and the atmosphere of celebration has stopped on the periphery of the mayor's mansion, and Henry, who is the central figure of this incident, and all of them are silent. The hall with other extra chairs and cabinets removed from the other redundant chairs and cabinets was put together from a few tables to create a war conference table, and the map in the middle was brought by Uncle Mario, and Margaret bought it with him after receiving the family's financial support.

The map itself contributed to the defense of the city, and it can even be said that Henry's arrangement would not have been possible without it. After all, no matter how capable he is, he is only one person, covering a wide range of surrounding areas, and if there is no accurate map of the terrain, everything can only be guessed and visually analyzed, and once the actual battle is engaged, all kinds of flaws and weaknesses will be exposed.

As with many other victories, there was not a single factor that determined the victory in this battle for the city defense. A knight captain who is decisive in his actions and has a talent for leadership, a noble lady who has connections and funds and can mobilize a large number of people and houses, a fat mayor who is reluctant but quick to deal with problems, and even paladins and high-ranking mercenaries who are few in number but strong in combat and can maintain the line.

Even if one of these conditions fails to meet the standard, then no matter how rich Henry's experience is, all he can do is turn around and run.

— but let's get back to square one.

Although Mayor Fat kept a map of his own, it was limited to the main road leading to the nearby cities of Scotty, and it was rare to find one as detailed as the one Mario had at hand, and at the moment this precious map was filled with arrows and symbols drawn with cheap iron oxide paint, much to the heart of many who knew its value.

"Smack-" Camilo snapped his fingers, his already illuminated mage's face pale, pale from the recent overuse of mana, but the magician

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The teacher couldn't stand even on crutches, but his voice was louder than anyone else's.

In other words, even witches, even so-called undead creatures, still can't escape these routines. ”

"Laws. He said this, and Orno, who was standing on the other side, stroked his side hair and nodded.

"Yes. The two mages of the elves and the humans stood in the middle of the encirclement and said this, the conversation had been going on for more than half an hour, and most of the people could hear the proper nouns that kept popping out of their mouths - Orno continued: "Dark magic is different from normal magic, the most fundamental thing is "

"It is," Orno struggled to find the right adjective in human language: "alive." ”

"The black bodily fluids flowing from the bodies of ghouls and low-level undead, as well as the black sky, the black snow, and the black parts are all witches' magic. ”

"Usually. Camilo went on to explain: "What we think of as magic is physics that needs to be triggered by a certain means. ”

"Phenomenon. ”

"Through the magician's own understanding of the rules and the mobilization of their magic, they can simplify the process of channeling spells and spells. A good mage can achieve greater results at a fraction of the cost of mana, in other words, efficiency. ”

"It's higher. ”

"But it doesn't matter what race it is, even if it's an elven magician. Orno snapped her fingers as she spoke, and a small spark popped up in her fingertips: "I can't get out of this spell-casting process." ”

"We were able to simplify it and bring the cast time infinitely closer to zero, which seems like an instantaneous spell to you humans, but it still requires the act of casting. ”

"That's what the usual magic is—"

"That- can you speak human words. Mira interrupted Orno, rubbing her forehead with a headache.

The elves and the wizard looked at each other, and they looked around, most of them looking unintelligible—Horno sighed.

"To put it simply, a magician's magic can't be too far away from him. ”

"There are two types of long-range magic, a non-controllable type that condenses to create a physical phenomenon and shoots it out, and a controllable type that can move while flying under the control of a magician. ”

"But either one has a distance limit, and it can only be generated by the magic of the mage's body. ”

"In other words, magic can't come without the magician's body?" Mira still frowned, feeling like she didn't fully understand it, but the words made a sudden "oh-" sound from many in the room.

"That's right—" Orno nodded, "That's why, the witch's magic is alive." ”

"It can be taken out of the body. ”

"The bodily fluids of ghouls and undead are the magic of witches, and ordinary people with low magic will be quickly eroded once they enter the bloodstream. ”

"And black snow is not harmful to ordinary people because of its weak magic content, but when it comes into contact with the mage's skin, the magic in the mage's body will automatically start to fight, which will cause the magic to pass and cause weakness. ”

"Clouds, snow, ghouls and undead are, in essence, a large magical system made up of the magic of witches, and we have destroyed-"

"Wait, that's what you mean—" The person who spoke was Filippo, and the young man had been through a lot of things along the way, and he was not stupid enough to clear his mind at this point.

"All these things we've been fighting are like, witches's, is, marionettes?" "Ah!" This time the voices were louder than the previous Mira ones, and Orno and Camilo looked at each other, and this time the magician rubbed his forehead and said with a headache:

"Yes, it's far more complicated than that, and involves a series of magical philosophy issues, but yes, that's it. ”

"There's nothing wrong with that. ”

"And then it's time for the point. ”

"I'm sure you've seen it too. Horno turned his head to look out the window: "Witch," she paused as she read the word, "The witch created this army with her own magic, like a marionette." ”

"And the total amount of magic that is condensed is large enough to affect the climate on a large scale. ”

"But it can't escape the law after all, after the ghouls and the undead are killed in large numbers, as all magicians should do. ”

"Witch. Orno turned his head, and his blue eyes swept calmly over everyone present, and finally stopped at Henry's body.

"Mana is running out

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Finish. ”

“”

"That's why the weather has come back!"

"Wait, that means—"

"Yes—" Konstantin stepped forward amid the cacophony of discussions, pointing his finger at the end of the arrow line drawn by the red paint.

"We should. ”

"Take advantage of the victory and pursue. ”

As the chief knight said this, most of the people present nodded, and the head of the paladins, Adolphus, turned his head to look at Henry, and the sage was silent as always, but at this moment people suddenly noticed that the cheers outside became louder.

They didn't pay much attention at first, until they heard the cheers clearly, and Constantine and Henry's faces suddenly changed, and then they quickly rushed out and opened the door to the terrace of the conference room.

"What the hell—" Within a minute, Constantine understood what was happening, and he slammed the guardrail in anger, while Henry half-squinted his eyes and glanced at the jubilant crowd in the middle of the avenue of Scotty Town.

To be precise, in the middle of the jubilant crowd, the dressed flowers and branches were displayed and led by a group of people wearing gorgeous armor.

Duke Julionde.

"Politicians. The sage spat out the word faintly.

————

"I-" said the spirited Julionde, picking at his nails, "disagree." ”

"What do you mean, you don't agree, it's embarrassing for you to take your turtle sons behind in this fight—" "Settle down, Captain Stephen, be quiet. As the leader of an elite mercenary group that has contributed a lot of strength in battle, this hunting mercenary man named Stephen is one of the few people who fought alongside Henry and Constantine, so he also knows the truth about this victory in the city's defense.

The truth.

It's a strange word to use here, but it's apt.

Even Henry, because the situation is so urgent, he has missed this after all.

The transfer of power between Constantine and Julionde took place under duress of power, and the transfer of supreme command was completed in less than ten minutes after the knight chief and the sage entered the camp together. Later, when the Duke of Julionde retreated, they quickly threw themselves into various transfer plans under the urgency of the situation, and the officers and non-commissioned officers ran around to replace the task arrangers, with little time to rest.

Even after the victory, they only continued to plan, and did not participate in the celebration of the soldiers at all.

Other words.

The only people who knew that the commander had changed were the superior officers, the high-ranking mercenaries, who were mostly members of the Independent Order of Constantine, and the nobles under Juliander, who were in the camp at the time.

Aristocrats are cautious guys who like to hold grudges.

Julionde may not have been very good at military attainments, but politically he was worthy of being a member of the upper class of the Padrosi aristocracy of the thousand-year-old empire.

The asymmetry of information has become a weapon to bite Henry and them at this moment, the soldiers are all following Huriond from the south, they do not know anything about the replacement of the commander, after achieving such a strong victory, Hurionde, who has been staying in recuperation, seized the opportunity, put on the face of a victor to a strong parade that you can't even notice if you don't notice, and condolences to the soldiers.

In just an instant, his popularity was at its peak.

All the soldiers who were outside shouted the name of the duke, and they concluded that this was the commander who brought light to their victory, and many of them fell to one knee with tears in their eyes, and Juliond duly made a gesture and won the overwhelming support of the soldiers with the merit of others as a medal on his chest.

Treacherous, cunning, and shameless. People who know the truth can curse as many words as they want, but in the face of the overwhelming aristocratic forces, they have no way but to curse.

After this gesture, the smug Juliander entered the mayor's mansion and climbed the stairs into the conference room, surrounded by the guards, and after asking Konstantin for an explanation of the battle in the posture of a victor, he unexpectedly vetoed it.

His reason was high-sounding: "The soldiers have just suffered such terrible losses, and I can hardly imagine that anyone, out of the vain and naïve idea of further pursuit of victory, would leave the protection of the walls and enter the terrible wilderness again." ”

In a word, plus the previous posture.

Julionde managed to defuse any counterattack by Konstantin.

After he put on this top hat, Konstantin, no matter how he explained it, would look like a soldier who wanted to take credit for vanity, and thus forced the tired soldiers to continue

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Fighting, selfish people.

Orno watched the humans coldly.

They fought bloodily to repel the formidable enemy, but after the victory, the stumbling blocks of their own kind behind them made it even more uncomfortable.

Miscalculated.

Even Henry has something that he can't calculate.

Concentrated on what was in front of them, they ignored Julionde, and now that they had been given the upper hand by the other side, they were powerless to oppose them.

He won the hearts and minds of the people, and although the credit did not belong to him, Julionde's actions won the trust and support of the soldiers.

Konstantin could go out and make it clear that the credit was not his, and even show the previous notes to prove it, but the nobles under Juliand, who made up the vast majority, would inevitably be on his side and begin to claim that it was a forgery.

They can ask the mercenaries and paladins to prove it, but the best way to do this is to split the soldiers who believe in them into two groups with the soldiers who believe in Julionde.

Now the last thing they need is a nest fight.

In addition, this kind of thing is deducted as a name for grabbing credit.

It's just a big one.

This duke, who is enjoying his success, bites back in the back, Henry, if they have already noticed, in fact, it is enough to make the soldiers realize who brought the victory in the battle. But now that the other party has taken the initiative, they are in a predicament and there is no suitable way to get out.

This thing that Julionde did could indeed be exposed and reversed with a few efforts over time, but the problem was that they didn't have time at the moment, the witch was so weak by the killing of a large number of undead and ghouls that the magic that passed away was so weak that it could no longer even affect the climate, and if she missed this opportunity, when she recovered again, she was more prepared and stronger, and they would only face greater casualties.

But the Duke didn't care about any of that.

He, like all politicians, sees only his own interests.

"I'm not going to let them out, the soldiers have to stay in the city, they can't leave. ”

If you are deflated, you must get your face back, and the Lamani nobles who can't afford to lose are full of smugness on their faces at the moment.

Konstantin looked at Henry, and the sage nodded.

"That's all there is to it. ”

"What?" said Juliond, who had replied to him as the paladin minister, Adolphus.

"If Your Excellency doesn't let the army go, you can't take care of our Holy See armed forces and mercenaries, right?" said the paladin word by word, although politely worded, but in a rather cold tone: "Or do you want to interfere in the decision-making of the Church, Your Excellency, Duke." ”

"Tsk, whatever you want!" Huriond turned his head, "but remember, even if you die outside, you won't have any support—" he said, leading the nobles in the direction of the staircase without looking back.

"This bastard!" the sturdy Captain Stephen smashed into the wall in a circle, and the sturdy planks looked fragile under his massive force, and suddenly they became dented.

"That's all there is to it. ”

"Your Excellency, Commander, choose your best. Adolphus turned his head after speaking: "Go and get ready." His paladin nodded and walked out.

"We must go at once, Lord Camilo-" "Yes, we will go with us, this matter requires every magician-"

"Strength. ”

"I'm going to move supplies with the mayor. Margaret said and trotted towards the room on the other side, while Konstantin was gloomy and silent for a long time, and could only sigh for a long time.

"You stay—" "Don't do it." ”

Mira stared straight at the sage.

Henry was a little speechless.

"You've left me alone once, don't think about a second time. She said, and the sage understood that this was referring to the previous charge. Obviously, our Luoan girl is not completely unaffected by this.

"She, and the unicorn, helped a lot. Horno opened his mouth in solidarity with Mira.

"Yes, unicorns are far more sensitive to magic than humans. ”

"And elves. ”

Henry lowered his head and met the little face again.

"What a disciple who doesn't listen to discipline. He shook his head and sighed, the determination in Mira's eyes sparkling as if she had said she was going to change her own life and take control of her own destiny—and when she showed that expression, the sage knew that nothing could stop her.

"What a terrible grown-up. And the girl rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to fight back.